Expression 360 Services India Limited IPO

01At a glance

What the company does: plans and runs events, exhibitions, trade-fair pavilions and brand activations, and provides creative, advertising, media-buying, digital and content services (AP p.2).

Who pays it: government ministries and departments, and public-sector undertakings, which together were 97.37% of revenue in the six months to September 2025 (AP p.2). The largest customer was 35.00% of revenue in that period and the top ten 84.19% (DRHP p.29).

Why it is raising money: it is not. The offer is entirely a sale of shares by the promoter Mohit Gupta, and the company receives none of the proceeds (AP p.3).

How fast it has grown: revenue from ₹1,154.88 million in FY23 to ₹2,802.28 million in FY25, and ₹1,616.04 million in the six months to September 2025 (AP p.5).

The one thing to understand: a government-dependent services business that swings with a few large clients. The largest customer's share has moved between 11.94% and 35.00% of revenue across the four periods, and the mix between ministries and public-sector undertakings has swung sharply from year to year (DRHP p.29, AP p.5).

02The business, in plain words

An events and marketing agency wins assignments from a ministry or public-sector company to run a campaign, an exhibition pavilion or an event. It designs the work, hires vendors for venues, fabrication, media and production, and bills the client.

A central public-sector undertaking needs a pavilion at a national trade fair → it awards the job to Expression 360, by tender or work order → the company designs the pavilion, contracts fabricators and staff, and runs it → it bills the undertaking and waits to be paid.

The company works asset-light through third-party vendors and media suppliers (AP p.6). It has a registered office in Kolkata, a corporate office in Delhi and six branch offices (AP p.2).

Earnings equation: Profit ≈ project billings − vendor, media and production cost − staff cost. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 17.24% in the six months to September 2025 (AP p.5).

03Where the money comes from

Source: AP p.5, AP p.6, DRHP p.32. H1 FY26 is six months.

Source: DRHP p.29, AP p.5.

Outdoor advertising was 32.66% of revenue in the six months to September 2025 (AP p.6).

04The growth record

Source: AP p.5, DRHP p.36. H1 FY26 is six months.

Our arithmetic: revenue grew about 55.8% a year from FY23 to FY25 and profit after tax about 89.6% a year (our arithmetic, AP p.5). The offer document puts return on capital employed at 59.05% in FY23, 72.61% in FY24 and 68.07% in FY25 (DRHP p.103).

05What the growth is made of

Larger assignments from fewer clients. Revenue in the six months to September 2025 came from 126 clients, against 235 in all of FY25, and the top five were 76.81% of it (DRHP p.29, AP p.5). Adjusted EBITDA margin roughly doubled from 8.33% in FY23 to 17.24% (AP p.5). The document does not break margin down by client or service in the pages read.

06Earnings quality

In FY25 the company reported ₹272.02 million of profit but used ₹95.48 million in operations, which it attributes mainly to higher trade receivables (DRHP p.36). Receivables rose from ₹258.80 million in March 2024 to ₹787.30 million in September 2025, and receivable days from 44 to 85 (DRHP p.37). The restated financial information was prepared by Mundra & Co., independent chartered accountants who are not the company's statutory auditors, which the document lists among its top risks (DRHP p.36, AP p.7).

07The balance sheet

Source: AP p.4, DRHP p.37.

Borrowings are small; debt to equity was 0.04 at September 2025 (AP p.5). Share capital rose from ₹2.22 million to ₹299.30 million in the six months to September 2025 (AP p.4); the abridged prospectus says acquisition prices are adjusted for a bonus issue and a share split (AP p.7).

08What the money is for

Source: AP p.1, AP p.3.

09Who is selling

Source: AP p.1.

Mohit Gupta holds 42,759,900 shares; after the sale the promoters together would hold 74.93% (our arithmetic, AP p.4).

10Promoters

The promoters are Mohit Gupta, Kanupriya Gupta, Ramesh Kumar Gupta and Ramesh Kumar Gupta HUF (AP p.3). Mohit Gupta, chairman and managing director, has been with the company since incorporation, holds a commerce degree from the University of Pune, and has over 15 years in advertising, marketing communications and government outreach (AP p.3). Kanupriya Gupta, whole-time director, has been with the company since FY2016 and has about 10 years in event work (AP p.3). Ramesh Kumar Gupta, aged 67, has about 28 years in transport and tourism and about 9 in advertising, and is the karta of the HUF, whose coparceners include Mohit Gupta (AP p.3).

11Who already owns it

Source: AP p.4.

12What changed just before the IPO

• Client mix: public-sector undertakings rose to 71.62% of revenue in the six months (AP p.5).
• Concentration: one customer at 35.00% of revenue (DRHP p.29).
• Receivables: up threefold since March 2024 (DRHP p.37).
• Share capital: bonus issue and split (AP p.4, AP p.7).
• Bonus issue: 134 equity shares for every 1 held, 29,707,800 shares allotted on 28 July 2025 at nil consideration, the last allotment before the offer (DRHP p.83).
• Share split: the face value was sub-divided from ₹10 to ₹5 in August 2025 (DRHP p.84).
• Auditor: Srimal Jain & Co resigned and Jay Gupta and Associates was appointed, both on 15 January 2024 (DRHP p.77).
• Public company: converted from a private limited company in June 2024 (DRHP p.73).

13Capacity and expansion

An asset-light services business with leased offices and no plant; it relies on third-party vendors for fabrication, media and production (AP p.2, AP p.6). No expansion is funded, as the company receives no proceeds (AP p.3).

14Market size and industry structure

The CareEdge report cited in the offer document estimates India's events and exhibitions market at $55.9 billion in CY25, up from $18.5 billion in CY20, and projects $103.7 billion by CY30; it puts advertising and creative services at $14.9 billion in CY25 and projects $28.2 billion by CY30 (AP p.3). Those projections are CareEdge's, and newboard has not tested them.

15Competitive position

What the document claims, and what it rests on:

• An end-to-end service model from creative to execution (AP p.3).
• Established government relationships (AP p.3).
• A pan-India operating network with a range of vendors (AP p.3).

Against that: dependence on government budgets and tenders, a few large clients each year, and no long-term contracts (AP p.6, AP p.7).

16Peers the company named

Source: DRHP p.101. Peer figures are standalone, as given in the document.

No P/E is possible for the company until a price band is set.

17Risks, in plain words

• Government dependence. 97% of recent revenue from ministries and public-sector undertakings (AP p.6).
• Concentration. The top ten customers were 84% of recent revenue (AP p.6).
• Receivables. Receivable days rose from 44 in FY24 to 85 in the six months (DRHP p.37).
• Tenders. Competitive bids and non-binding work orders (AP p.6, AP p.7).
• Events. Demand is cyclical and events can be cancelled or postponed (DRHP p.32).
• Reporting. Restated accounts prepared by a firm other than the statutory auditors (AP p.7).

18Litigation and regulatory matters

Source: AP p.8. One tax matter against a director involves ₹0.13 million (AP p.8).

19Related-party transactions

Not read in detail for this study.

20What the offer document does not say

In the sections read for this study, the document does not give:

• Who the largest customer is, at 35% of recent revenue.
• What the eleven tax proceedings and one other matter against the company concern, involving ₹181 million in all, in the pages read.
• Which states matter most: the business summary names Maharashtra, Delhi and West Bengal as 87.20% of recent revenue (AP p.2), while the risk factors name Maharashtra, Gujarat and Haryana (AP p.6).
• Why the statutory auditors did not prepare the restated accounts.
• The price band, lot size or issue dates, which is normal at DRHP stage.

21Five questions for management

1. Who is the customer that provided 35% of revenue in the six months to September 2025, and was that work tendered?
2. How old are the ₹787 million of receivables, and which clients owe them?
3. Which three states account for most revenue, Maharashtra, Delhi and West Bengal, or Maharashtra, Gujarat and Haryana?
4. What do the ₹181 million of proceedings against the company concern?
5. Why did margins double between FY23 and the latest six months?

2Sources and cited facts

This study was read from 2 documents the company filed. The 60 figures it cites are listed under the document each came from, with the page and the sentence as printed.